An independent, peer reviewed journal for policy makers and practitioners in agriculture and related industries, assessing the interactions between population growth, resources, the environment and climate change.

Author: Professor Anthony Trewavas

Elsewhere in this journal (pages 60-67), we make a critique of the article by Dr Helen Wallace (Wallace, 2013), in which she argues strongly that GM crops are both unnecessary and harmful in various ways.
Dr Wallace has herself responded to this criticism (pages 68-69) and the editors have kindly allowed us to provide an initial reaction, on which we hope to expand in the next edition of World Agriculture.
The negative picture painted by Dr Wallace does not appear to be consistent …

Summary
In the last issue of World Agriculture, Vol. 4, No. 1, Dr Helen Wallace of GeneWatch UK wrote a highly critical analysis of the role of GM crops in world agriculture (1) .
By selectively quoting only critical sources, Dr Wallace constructed a misleadingly negative case against a valuable technology. In this review, we examine her case point by point.
There are costs and benefits to every human activity and it is important that all are considered and form the basis of any …

Summary
It is often claimed by proponents of organic farming that, if used worldwide, it would provide sufficient food for a growing world population.
Here we make a critical assessment of this claim for wheat, a major cereal crop and source of food throughout the world.
We have compared organic and conventional systems, examined some of the publications and claims in detail, and found a typical ratio of organic:conventional wheat yields of 0.65.
Nitrogen (N) fixation by …